If they hadn’t found the pattern elsewhere, could the killer have accessed this system to target victims?

Following this hypothesis, besides the already-investigated HR staff and managers, who else could freely access this system without attracting police attention?

…

You Mingxu immediately asked her IT colleagues to investigate who developed these two office systems. Now, they had responded—

The same software outsourcing company had built both! These bathhouses couldn’t maintain their own mature IT departments, so they outsourced their computer systems. While such outsourcing companies typically had high staff turnover, You Mingxu’s colleague was resourceful. After extensive elimination and investigation, he discovered an employee who had left the outsourcing company three months ago but had worked on both bathhouses’ system construction.

Moreover, her colleague found that this employee had been frequently logging into the bathhouse systems from external IP addresses recently, including last night!

You Mingxu’s heart pounded as she slowly exhaled and asked: “Is his IP address…” She recited a string of numbers.

Her colleague: “Eh? How did you know?”

There was no time for detailed explanations. You Mingxu said: “Send me this employee’s photo and information immediately. Also, can you see his browsing history from yesterday? Which masseuse’s information was he viewing?”

Colleague: “Damn, Sister Yu, you even knew about that! He repeatedly browsed two female employees’ files last night and ended up downloading one’s complete file and photos. I’ll send you this along with his registration information from the outsourcing company!”

The next target would be female employees!

You Mingxu used a speakerphone to share information in real time. After hanging up, she saw Yin Feng and Xu Mengshan looking at her, having understood everything.

You Mingxu smiled, glancing at the crime tools and items around them, and said to Yin Feng: “Looks like you had it backward earlier—I’ll catch him while you work hard finding evidence.”

Yin Feng gazed at her upturned phoenix eyes, bright with clarity, his heart-stirring. He realized he loved seeing You Mingxu like this, commanding and unstoppable—even when she showed her authority to him. Previously, he’d despised women trying to climb above him.

But now… let her climb.

Yin Feng smiled slightly: “My lady is wise.”

You Mingxu snorted with amusement, while Xu Mengshan gained new respect for Sister Yu’s domestic status. Just then, the IT colleague sent the information to You Mingxu.

She looked at her phone and froze.

First, she saw the name and photo of the outsourcing technician who frequently logged into the system—their fresh suspect.

Ming Tao.

The photo was likely his company ID photo, with a blue background, passport-sized. The Ming Tao in the photo looked somewhat different from a year ago. Still fair and handsome, but the bangs that usually covered his eyes were cut, revealing a pair of rather profound eyes. Yet his lips still curved slightly, showing traces of rebelliousness and cold pride.

You Mingxu looked up, meeting Yin Feng’s deep eyes. Both were startled, yet somehow this felt unexpected yet logical.

Scenes involving Ming Tao from Tibet suddenly flooded You Mingxu’s mind. That boy who claimed to be a fresh university graduate matched in height, age, and build. No wonder she’d found the surveillance footage silhouette familiar.

Ming Tao’s bangs had always hidden his eyes; when he’d look up and smile at them, you could never see the light in his eyes. Upon first meeting, he’d laughed heartily, saying: “How interesting, the serial killer might be among us!”

His interest in criminology, and his obsession with serial killers. During that confrontational night, was his constant switching of accusations between suspects mere confusion, or deliberate?

You Mingxu grew more alarmed as she remembered another scene: while she sat talking with Gu Tiancheng by the tent, the wind had carried Ming Tao’s cold snort: “Such pretenses, how boring, no wonder he enjoys killing.”

Gu Tiancheng had heard but pretended not to.

At the time, You Mingxu thought Ming Tao’s “he” referred to the unidentified highway serial killer—Gu Tiancheng.

But what if it wasn’t?

What if it referred to another serial killer Ming Tao had admired since childhood with lingering regret?

…

You Mingxu gathered herself. Regardless of what Ming Tao had experienced this past year, whether he’d concealed anything in Tibet, or if his appearance there had hidden motives, he was now their prime suspect. He had targeted someone new and might flee once he detected police involvement—they had to arrest him immediately!

Before any potential punisher could appear!

Yin Feng seemed to read her thoughts instantly. Glancing at the night outside, he said: “It’s bathhouse closing time now, his active period. I think he’s probably meticulously conducting surveillance work, full of fresh excitement and passion, and might not immediately notice the disturbance here. Let’s intercept him now!”

—

Indeed, it was already 2 AM.

You Mingxu immediately deployed her plan:

First, they contacted the bathhouse to confirm the third target—a girl named Jiang Mei—had finished work ten minutes ago. They learned her exact route home from her close colleagues—the quickest way to track her.

Second, through mobile signal tracking, they confirmed Jiang Mei was on a night bus. After ensuring her safety, the police decided not to contact her immediately to avoid alerting Ming Tao and putting her in danger.

Could Ming Tao be on that same bus?

Police forces were rapidly mobilizing along the bus route.

Twenty minutes later.

You Mingxu and Yin Feng hid behind roadside flower beds, with other officers in position. The bus would arrive at this stop—Jiang Mei’s stop—in two minutes.

You Mingxu held her breath. Yin Feng stood behind her, equally silent. You Mingxu habitually reminded him: “Stay back when it happens, he might be armed. Wait until we’ve caught him.”

“Mm.” Yin Feng said, “I’ll follow Ah Xu’s lead.”

You Mingxu couldn’t help but smile.

Then she felt his chest almost touching her back, his breath near her ear. She turned to look; he was gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

He turned back to look at her: “Be careful.”

“Mm.”

Between them, few words were needed. Even though she would be taking the lead now, that intimate feeling of being almost one person remained intensely present.